Fair Market Price is an estimate of a “fair” price that any given new vehicle can be purchased for. This national estimate, updated monthly, reflects recent market conditions (supply and demand) plus a reasonable dealer markup.

The 2015 Kia Sportage is the last model year of the current platform, which will be replaced by an all-new model for 2016, sharing its underpinnings with its corporate cousin, the Hyundai Tucson. But that doesn’t mean there’s necessarily anything wrong with the current Sportage. Introduced in 2011, the current model’s styling is still sharp and distinctive for the compact-crossover class, and an available 260hp 2.0L gasoline-direct-injection (GDI) turbo gives the Sportage ample power. While the current Sportage is stylish and fun to drive, its noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) characteristics make it one of the noisier entries in the class. The Sportage is available with a number of comfort and convenience options, including a heated and ventilated driver seat, navigation, and Bluetooth streaming audio, but recent updates to class leaders such as the Ford Escape and Honda CR-V put the current Sportage mid-pack in terms of features. If you’re a bargain hunter, expect special offers on the outgoing ’15 models to make room for the ’16 Sportage coming later in the year.

REVIEW

Same Great Style, Less Thrilling

Recently, we drove the 2013 Kia Sportage EX's boosted sibling, the 2013 Sportage SX, which is equipped with the Hyundai/Kia Theta II 2.0 GDI turbo engine. Cranking out 260 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque, the engine made the small SUV fun to drive but a bit of a handful when driven aggressively. Although we're rarely ones to proclaim a vehicle has "too much power," the Sportage SX, especially in front-drive form, toes the edge of that line thanks to sometimes darty torque steer from the potent turbocharged powerplant.

Those that like the style and amenities of the SX but don't have the need for speed will appreciate the fact that Kia also offers Sportage EX you see here. It is powered by the standard 2.4-liter port-injected four-cylinder that produces 176 hp and 168 lb-ft of torque and provides a driving experience that is considerably more sedate, as would be expected from a vehicle with 84 fewer horsepower and 101 less lb-ft of torque. That in no way implies, however that the EX is a less capable or inferior model to the hyper-caffeinated SX.

In some ways, the naturally aspirated powerplant is more appropriate for the class, with power figures that are in the same neighborhood as the segment volume leaders, the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Toyota RAV4. Fuel economy is also slightly improved over the turbo, at 30 mpg highway, compared to the turbo's 28, though the city figure for both engines is 21 mpg. In typical suburban stop-and-go driving, the 2.4-liter engine is entirely adequate, going about its business without undue fuss. Only during full-throttle passing and merging do you yearn for the added power of the turbo, as in the upper rev range, the 2.4 tends to produce more noise than accelerative thrust.

When we first picked up our EX tester, we noticed the persistent green "Eco" light on the dashboard. After some fiddling with the trip computer, we figured out how to disable this mode. It helped throttle response slightly, but could not make up for the substantial power deficit relative to the turbo. The EX's 0-60 time was an unremarkable 9.3 seconds, nearly a full second behind the Honda CR-V and 2013 Toyota RAV4. This time is also a full two seconds behind the time posted by the SX, but feels like even more. Chalk the drastic seat-of-the-pants difference up to the 101 lb-ft torque deficit, which while a handful off-the-line in the SX, makes passing and rolling acceleration a much more confident affair.

Power aside, our praise for other areas of the Sportage's design remains for the EX. Other than a single rear tailpipe and different badging, the EX is virtually indistinguishable from the hot-rod SX. You get the LED running lights in the front, 18-inch alloy wheels, and with the Premium package, the same navigation headunit and heated and cooled driver's seat, among other niceties.

The EX even wears the same-size 235/55-18 tires as the SX. The suspension tuning seems a little softer in the EX, but the ride could still not be accurately described as plush or serene. The Sportage is a small, short-wheelbase SUV in all its forms, and the suspension tuning can only do so much to hide this basic configuration. Going to a less-aggressive rolling stock than the low-profile 18-inch wheels and tires might help some.

The Sportage begs for a middle engine option, and the most obvious choice is the 2.4-liter GDI engine used in the base Sorento and Optima. Producing 190 hp and 181 lb-ft in its SUV applications, this engine would put a little more spring in the step of the Sportage without the hyper-adrenalized character of the SX's turbo. We would not be at all surprised to see this option appear on the 2014 model, possibly as part of a larger mid-cycle refresh.

In the hyper-competitive compact SUV market, the Sportage is a niche player, selling just a fraction of the units of the class leaders. But Kia seems comfortable offering the Sportage as a more stylish alternative to the more conventional Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. If you like the looks of the Sportage, but are happy with simply keeping up with traffic, rather than blasting ahead of it, the Sportage EX may be the perfect middle ground.

Consumers tend to be thrilled when they can get features and style of much more expensive models in a wallet-friendly package and the 2013 Kia Sportage SX is a perfect example of the Korean brand's value-packed reputation.

Ford Escape vs. Honda CR-V vs. Kia Sportage vs. Mazda CX-5 vs. Volkswagen Tiguan -- Whether we like it or not, crossovers are here to stay, while the body-on-frame SUVs that we know and love are never going to enjoy the same mass-market appeal they once had.

News of a sportier SX trim for the 2011 Kia Sportage isn't new to us, but the Korean car company has now given us the full rundown of what we can expect for the U.S.-spec version of the turbocharged crossover.

The 2011 Kia Sportage arrived at dealers this month and it has already earned the Top Safety Pick designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a marked improvement over its predecessor.

The 2011 Kia Sportage first wowed us with its new baby-Sorento styling last month at its international debut in Geneva, but now that it's turned up in New York for its U.S. debut, we've learned a few more facts about the new model.

Kia recalls 139,844 of its vehicles for a faulty brake light. Kia Amanti, Rondo, Sedona, Sorento, and Sportage models from MY 2006 and 2007 may suffer from a damaged stop lamp switch that indicates falsely or doesn't operate at all.